Traditional apple pie

TRADITIONAL APPLE PIE ( Mak Muda, this one's for you) :

PASTRY:

350g plain flour

pinch of salt

85g butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

85g white veg fat, cut into small pieces

about 6 tbsp cold water

beaten egg or milk, for glazing

method:

sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. add the butter and fat and rub( gaul dan ramas ) in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and gather the mixture into a dough.Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

preheat the oven to 220c.
FILLING:

750g - 1 kg cooking apples peeled, cored and sliced

125g soft brown sugar or caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon. mixed spice or ground ginger

1 - 2 tbsp water ( optional)

methods:

mix the apples with the sugar and spice and pack into the pastry case ( roll out almost two thirds of the pastry thinly and use to line a deep 23 cm/ 9 inch pie plate or pie tin)

the filling can come up above the rim.Add the water if needed, particularly if the apples are not very juicy.

roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid.Dampen the edges of the pie rim with water and position the lid, pressing the edges firmly together.

trim and crimp the edges.

Using the trimmings, cut out leaves or other shapes to decorate the top of the pie, dampen and attach. Glaze the top of the pie with beaten egg or milk, make 1 or 2 slits in the top and place the pie on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180c, and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the pastry is alight golden brown. Serve hot or cold, sprinkled with sugar.
Vanilla sauce recipe:

( yet to google.....:-) )

but this apple pie can be eaten with vanilla ice cream too.

happy baking!

Kek cawan "merah Baldu"

a request from my school mate who is in India, sorry Nozi, took so long to write this, hope this helps, a recipe extracted from one of my collection of cookbooks.

RED VELVET

2 1/2 cups cake flour- sifted
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
( whisk all three )

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup veg oil
( with an electric mixer on med high speed, whisk these two until combined

Add eggs ( 2 ) one at a time. beating until each is incorporated.

mix in:
1/2 tsp red gel-paste fod colour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

reduce speed to low, add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk ( 1 cup ), whixking well after each.

Stir together:
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
and 2 tsp distilled white vinegar, in a small bowl ( it will foam);

and this mixture to the batter, and mix on med speed 10 sec.

pour into your papercups or into the muffin tin lined with papercups, about three quarter full, bake for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven ( 350F )

nice to be eaten with cream cheese frosting

My first reaction when I ate this Red velvet was mixed. I didn't quite like it at first, it tasted rather funny , but when I tried it again, I just had to have more, one cup was not enough and I ate it even without the cream cheese frosting , but it tastes much better wth the frosting.

Macaronii au gratin...again....

What can I say, they like it, alhamdulilah,My kids love it and so do my customers.

this re-entry of macaroni au gratin recipe was prompted by a request from a lady in chennai.
this recipe was from one of the other bloggers and I thank her for sharing this wonderfully delicious and scrumptious recipe


200g macaroni- boiled
70g parmesan cheese

Filling:
200g chicken, prawn, squid, fish filamen
50g minced meat
1 potato, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp black pepper

white sauce
4 tbsp butter
5 tbsp wheat flour
2 1/2 cup fresh milk
1/2 cube chicken stock ( melt with 1/2 cup of warm water )
2/3 tsp salt

1.fry mixture for filling, pour in some water to soften the potatoes. keep aside.
2. for the white sauce, melt butter over med flame. put in flour and continue whisking not to let the batter crumble.Pour in milk, chicken stock mixture & salt. Keep on stirring till the sauce thickens, turn off the heat.
3. pour in filling mixture into 2 and blend in well.
3. mix together macaroni into 3, pour into desired caserole dish, sprinkle with the parmesan. ( I like mine with lots of cheese and therefore I added cheddar and lots of mozarella on top.)
4. Bake in a preheated oven of 220 C for about 15 to 20 minutes or until all the cheese melts ....yummmm or it turns golden brown, like in the picture ( err....this is how I like it )

macaroni au gratin, baked and ready to be enjoyed
bon appetit!

p/s hope this recipe helps Aslamah! Don't forget to try it for berbuka.

Spaghetti bolognese with meatballs

these two recipes were prompted by requests through my facebook photo album and I am sharing this with them, so that they can also enjoy a taste of Italian in their kitchen once in a while, like I do with my family.
my version of simple spaghetti bolognese with meatballs:

heat olive oil in a pan
saute chopped onion and garlic ( crushed)
then, add in minced meat, fry till the meat is cooked
add in meatballs ( optional)
note: you can also add in diced carrots if you like at this stage

pour in a bottle of spaghetti sauce( store bought )
sprinkle some oregano
parsley, basil, thyme,
black pepper
( or just buy the bolognese spices or italian spices)
add in a blob ( one tablespoon )of tomato puree
add in some water , with beef stock cubes
to taste, add in salt and a bit of sugar
taste it, and it's done, after simmering for close to half an hour.

meanwhile or before you start making the sauce, boil some water
when it starts to boil, sprinkle in some salt and put in the spaghetti, boil it till the pasta is tender.
my way of testing whether the spaghetti is ready or not, is by throwing it on to the wall, if it gets stuck there, then it is done, if not, boil it some more, make sure to clean the wall afterwards, okay....hehe....
I like to eat mine with hard boiled eggs.


LASAGNA


or a formal written recipe for the bolognese is as follows:
BOLOGNESE SAUCE:
725g/ 1 1/2 lb minced meat
1 large onion
1 garlic
2 tbs oil , preferably olive oil
400g can peeled tomatoes
4 tbs tomato puree
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 litre ( 4 cups) water
salt, pepper

chopped and fry the onions in the olive oil
stir in minced meat,
then put in the rest of the ingredients
bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Note: can also use this bolognese sauce as the sauce for lasagna

the difference between lasagna and spaghetti is the cheese ssauce:

CHEESE SAUCE:
60g/2 oz butter
1/3 cup plain flour
salt, pepper
pinch of nutmeg
2 cups milk
125g/ 4 oz chedar cheese
3 tbsp grated parmesan

method:
melt butter in a saucepan
add flour, salr, pepper and nutmeg, blned until smooth, stir over heat for a bout 1 minute
gradually add in milk, stir until sauce boils and thickens
reduce heat, cook 1 minute
remove from heat, stir in grated cheddar, stir until cheese melts

Note: detail recipe for lasagna is in my earlier post.


Bon appetit!

chocolate Mousse Tart-

Chocolate mousse tart (recipe simplified and extracted from one of my cookbooks collection )

Biscuit base:

3 oz digestive biscuit

3 oz amaretti biscuit

2 1/2 oz butter, melted

Mix all and press into the base of a 9" spring form tin. Chill in the fridge.

topping:

7 oz plain chocolate

4 oz milk chocolate, broken both types of chocolate into pieces

3 large eggs, esparated

2 oz caster sugar

chocolate flake bars to decorate ( optional/ can do without )

Melt the chocolate, double boil method , cool slightly add the egg yolks and mix well.

Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peak, add in caster sugar and whisk until stiff

fold the chocolate into the egg whites and then pour onto the biscuit base. chill in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.

when you want to eat it unmould and transfer onto serving dish and either decorate it wth the chocolate flakes or none if you like.Can even eat it on its own, taste as good.